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The Best Ways to Organize People You’re Following Into Twitter Lists

If you follow everyone you want to keep tabs on, your primary Twitter stream is going to be hard to manage. Individual tweets you might have found interesting will quickly drop away as new tweets come in, and you’ll spend all your time scrolling through your feed.

Instead, use Twitter lists to organize people you want to get updates from. These can be the people you’re already following, or those you don’t want to follow, but still want to track. Here are five ideas for how to organize people on Twitter into lists — they’re also listed past the video in case you don’t want to watch:

1. Top industry experts

Create a list of the top experts in your field, and make sure this is a public list. This will not only keep you updated on the latest in your expert field, but it will establish your credibility. Others will follow your expertly curated list, so you will benefit from this visibility.

This is the best way to make Twitter a valuable learning tool. See what the top experts are talking about and tweeting about. Read the articles they’re sharing, trends they’re talking about, and tips they’re posting. Retweet them and tweet out the same articles they’re sharing to become known as an expert in your field as well.

2. Company employees

Create a list consisting of fellow employees at your company. Instead of naming this list “coworkers,” as you may switch companies every few years, name this list your company name, so you can refer back to this individual list years from now to see what your former coworkers from that time are up to. It’s a great way to keep in touch.

If you control your company’s Twitter page, create a list of your employees — your customers and fans are probably interested in who is behind your brand. You can then link to this list in your website or blog’s sidebar so fans and customers can follow the list and get insight into your company culture. If you’re at a big company, consider creating separate lists for each department in your company.

3. Networking (events & conferences)

Twitter can be a valuable networking tool. If there are individuals in your field you want to connect with at an upcoming event or conference, add them to a list. When looking for retweet opportunities, you can refer to the list of individuals you want to network with. Retweeting their content will get their attention, and this can spark conversation ahead of your event.

After the event, hold on to the program afterwards and search for speakers you heard or interesting people you met. This is a great way to follow up on conversations, keep in touch, network, and find out about future conferences you’d be interested in attending.

4. Your competition

Making a list to keep tabs on your competitors is a great way to keep tabs on them without following them or letting them know you’re tracking them. I recommend keeping this list private. By keeping tabs on your competition, you can make sure you’re always staying a step ahead of them, and that what you’re sharing is more valuable.

5. Your friends

Make a list for your real-life friends! I keep my friends list private, and I always have a dedicated column for my friends in Tweetdeck. This way you can easily keep up with the people who matter to you most. Also, on weekends, you can just keep tabs of this list if you want to create a work/life balance and avoid the work or industry related lists.

Get 10 more ideas + step-by-step instructions!

Get 10 more ideas for organizing your Twitter lists in the ebook 20 Day Twitter fix! You’ll also get step-by-step instructions for how to create these Twitter lists and add them as columns in Tweetdeck.

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About Diana Urban

Diana Urban is the author of the U Stand Out ebooks and blog teaching people how to do online marketing using content marketing, social media, and SEO strategies. By day she's a marketer -- currently at Localytics, previously at HubSpot. Tweet at @DianaUrban or like her Facebook page to stay connected!